philthy

I get brim to brim 30mpg from a diesel VW Touareg 3.0 V6 R Line on urban roads driving steadily but not gently. On a rural run that can be near 40mpg.

That's not strictly true though is it. The electric hybrid system doesn't run the car at any speed. Above 30mph then the petrol engine is running the car and engine braking is putting charge back in to the hybrid system. I agree that once the engine is warmed up and sub 30mph speeds you are not using the petrol engine, but it is for a limited distance before the petrol engine has to take over. You cannot run the RX on the hybrid batteries for ever and a day. As far as what more could you want goes; if the prospective buyer is intending doing plenty of long runs then diesel is the answer. If it's plenty of short journeys then a petrol engine is better, but if it's short journeys from cold, then they shouldn't expect much of a saving as the hybrid system won't have much effect. Phil I don't reckon you have an RX400h or driven one long enough, your assessment looks like a pure cut and paste from a journalist who drove the car for half hour and was very eager to publish his story before the competition.I drive and own a RX400h and it can run purely on electric for long bursts of a mile plus at speeds 50 miles/hour. The highest economical speed you can run at is between 50 and 60 miles where it will do 40+ mpg over a long distance. Above 65 its almost purely petrol motor with pulses of charge or electric motor to push it over road raises and on slopes engine cuts of completely to allow electric charging, which depending on the angle of the slop, weather and wind resistance the car gradually shifts to electric drive and eventually to the petrol motor. In a nut shell engine temperature aside, torque required to maintain the cruise speed determines what the hybrid motor does at any given moment. He didn't say it isn't good as Lexus, but i do. And also from the perspective of owning one, what a money pit!? Although on the same wheel base of Q7 and Cayenne (they are comparable with Lexus RX), it was nothing even close to them. The lower price there is for a reason. I ended up asking myself "if there's a life outside the garage".Hopefully you'll have more positive experience owning (and servicing) Touareg than mine, but if i were you i wouldn't give opinion based just on what i read on the reviews and forums. First thing, my info is from the dealership who I interrogated at length. That leads me to one of two potential conclusions; either he is telling the truth or he doesn't know his product. Bearing in mind he's been there a good many years and sold me my IS when I bought one, I'm inclined to trust his account when he could so easily have hid the truth to get me to buy a 450h. Now secondly, I have yet to see a review or read one that states the RX can run on hybrid power alone for any great distance and at speeds over 30mph. Yes constantly coming off the accelerator and coasting will engage the hybrid from the accounts on here.As for the Touareg not being a Lexus; you're right it isn't, it's better in my book. Volkswagon have produced a proper SUV that will go off road and tow just about anything. You clearly didn't like your Treg but by the targeted abuse you've come out with, I'm not sure you like your RX either and are trying to convince yourself otherwise. Now the T1 Treg had problems, but the T2 largely eradicated these. The T3 has no reported issues 3 years after release. No electrical, mechanical, bodywork or otherwise. To the original poster; go and speak to a dealer. Those who didn't opt for an RX will be adamant they made the right choice and those who did will be adamant that they did.

That's not strictly true though is it. The electric hybrid system doesn't run the car at any speed. Above 30mph then the petrol engine is running the car and engine braking is putting charge back in to the hybrid system. I agree that once the engine is warmed up and sub 30mph speeds you are not using the petrol engine, but it is for a limited distance before the petrol engine has to take over. You cannot run the RX on the hybrid batteries for ever and a day. As far as what more could you want goes; if the prospective buyer is intending doing plenty of long runs then diesel is the answer. If it's plenty of short journeys then a petrol engine is better, but if it's short journeys from cold, then they shouldn't expect much of a saving as the hybrid system won't have much effect.

The RX8 will fall foul of emissions costs. It isn't economical on fuel or oil. A lot of people fall foul of the 1.3cc description when in reality it is 2.6cc. They're cheap for a reason.

Why would you restrict your choice to either an X5 or RR as the only non hybrid models? There are better cars out there in terms of the specification you get and with equal performance qualities. In fact give me an RX350 over any X5 or RR for the same price. What's your budget? New or used? Petrol or diesel although by you saying V8 you mean diesel? Don't forget that VW did a V10 diesel Touareg in the T1/2 but if it goes wrong, it's going to cost. A lot. Do you need 7 seats of just 5? Is it actually going off road or straying no further than a field for parking?

Ahh, I thought you were trying to say it isn't as good as a Lexus. I apologise. Should have remembered this is the RX lounge and not the riff-raff in the IS one.

No, the problem also affects new cars according to the dealer I spoke with. I've owned a Lexus previously and they have no superior quality over other established marques. If anyone honestly believes they have then they are puddled. Yes theyre above Ford, Nissan, Renault etc, but Volvo, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Volkswagon? Not a chance. The warranty with the Lexus hybrid batteries is better than VWs for their hybrid Toureg, but I gave up on the idea of a hybrid altogether. As it is I got a car with very high spec and performance for half the price of what a new RX450h would've cost me with less spec and performance.

I leave my vehicle for long periods and I don't see why anyone should have to go and buy a replacement battery for a new car. Lexus are aware of this problem and should sort it out if we're being brutally honest about it. As it is I bought a new R Line VW Toureg with a 3.0 V6 diesel engine and Blue motion technology.

Ok but we know which battery I meant. I would be leaving the car standing for long periods and plenty of folks reckon it only has to be a week for the problem to occur. Don't get me wrong, it's a good car, but the problem with the battery is too big a risk for me to take and when coupled with my other reasons, it's not the car for me.

I'm in the market for an SUV and after much deliberation I didn't go for an RX. The hybrid system on the RX is good in that Lexus give an excellent warranty on the aux batteries, but that's about it. I'm an infrequent user so I would inevitably suffer with the dreaded flat aux batteries problem. To spec an RX up to the same level as the car I'm buying pushes the costs up significantly too. Lexus dealers aren't everywhere like some of the other top marque manufacturers so if I'm not happy with the level of service with my local dealer, I'm pushed as to how far I'm prepared to travel just to get the car serviced.

Why would you? They're totally different cars. Yes they're both hybrids made by Lexus but that's it. One's an SUV with decent load space comfortably seating four adults the other's a small car with limited loading capacity.

You really have to weigh up the pros and cons. For mostly short journeys, the hybrid makes perfect sense over a diesel SUV with a DPF that will clog up in time, although you can get around this by ensuring you use it for a good length journey now and again. However, if the RX is left standing for any length of time you risk the dreaded flat battery problem. The RX is also a bit wallowy on a ride when compared to the diesel SUVs which are more planted. The RX does tend to be better specced but is reflected in the price. Diesel is more expensive than petrol and unless you intend to be doing high mileages doesn't make economical sense. There isn't much in it as far as VEL costs go with some of the diesel SUVs coming in cheaper than the RX although they are poorly specced and lack power. The VW Toureg hybrid doesn't have anywhere near the same warranty benefits as the RX with regard to the hybrid batteries.

USA and UK gallons are different quantities. I can't remember off the top of my head which is bigger, but it may account for the difference.

You shouldn't expect to get near to claimed mpg figures simply because anyone with an ounce of noggin knows they aren't obtained by real world driving and rather by a standard bench test which all manufacturers are required to do. I do not think it is acceptable to have a 40% discrepancy in claimed and actual mpg figures but then I don't for one minute take manufacturer's claimed figures as gospel. YOU, like the rest of the car buying public, have to accept that manufacturer claimed mpg figures are unlikely to be achieved in the real world even with a worn in engine and driving like Miss Daisy, and if you want to drop your engine out, stick it on a bench test and run it at the claimed rpm, it is the only way you'll get near or to those figures..

If you knew manufacturer mpg figures were obtained from bench tests and not the real world, then you should have used a web site such as Honest John where you'll find average user mpg figures for the various manufacturers. Believing any car would get anywhere near claimed figures is naive Engine Official MPG Real MPG Avg. Real MPG % 450h 44.8 mpg 34.1 mpg 76%

Used approved schemes suggest a reliable second hand vehicle the manufacturer would be proud to put their name and reputation behind. I too fell foul of Lexus' used approved scheme a few years ago when I purchased a two year old IS220d.from Leicester. Firstly the salesmen conned me that I had to put down a refundable £1k deposit for them to transfer the vehicle to stock for me to view it. On inspection I picked out a few faults which they agreed to sort. On collection the salesman didn't have time to do a proper handover, there were numerous problems; chewing gum stuck on top of the ash tray, puncture hole in a door card, scratches in the paintwork and on the way home a blow out in a wheel that when inspected by the fitter he declared caused by a nail that had been in the tyre for some time. When I got the spare out, the boot well was full of once wet but now dried business cards that had stuck to the chassis. Some PDI eh Lexus Leicester. Lexus had the car back to rectify the problems and made various promises and apologies none of which were fulfilled. On checking the premises one evening I found my car left on the forecourt rather than secured away from the public. When I got the car back I found someone's credit card in the glove box, someone I hasten to add had no connection with the company so I can only assume they let my car out as a demo or loaned it to someone without my knowledge or agreement. They then had the nerve to ask me to take the card to them clearly indicating they knew who to return it to but could give no explanation of how it got there. I took the car into work (police) and booked it in. Six months later I got rid of the car at a substantial loss having no desire to step foot in a Lexus dealership again. Now I'm in the market for an SUV and the RX looks have always been good, but the experience with Lexus Leicester has always made me hang back. Thankfully the RX's problems with holding battery charge when stationary for a week or more mean I won't be tempted to back to Lexus. All used approved schemes can have problems but my experience with Volvo for example has never thrown up any such issues. I'm about to try VW's scheme so we'll see how they compare.

The danger with the Disco 4 is that the 3.0Tdi has to have the whole chassis lifted off to get at the twin turbos if they fail. The 2.57doesn't have the problem. Copied from Honest John: What to Watch Out For 19-2-2011: LandRover forum reports of Discovery 4 losing power and going in to limp mode , also transmission warning light problems. 4-4-2011: Unlike the 2.7V6 diesel in which designers had anticipated the problem and replumbed the engine with only one turbo, the twin turbos of the 3.0V6 diesel require the completre body to be lifted off the ladder rail chassis to provide access to the turrbos. The photos show a Disco IV 3.0V6 turbo replacement taking place.

Strange that. I looked at most of your selection (not the X5, too pig ugly) and have opted for the new generation Toureg. A 3.0 V6 Tdi that does real world 30mpg around town, decent returns on A road/motorway runs, a low VEL band and can genuinely run off road. The Lexus is nice, but I just can't live with a car that you can't leave standing too long before the dreaded flat battery plague causes you problems. I did like the ML but the £450 a year VEL is not acceptable to me and the new generation ML is still too pricey. Besides the wife thought the ML looked too masculine and aggressive. So Toureg it is.

I must admit, it was the deciding factor for me too. I so wanted an RX hybrid but I do have frequent periods where the vehicle is left in the garage for sometimes up to a month. I just couldn't live with a car that has a battery charge problem if it isn't used. Instead I find myself looking at the Toureg and the M class.

Just found out that Navigator is the early version of multimedia. Difference is multimedia plays DVD and has a better sat nav function. Both are ML stereos.

Not sure. Although they're with the same dealership, they are at different branches so it may be how whoever put the ads together for the web site. Spec listing is as follows: RX400h SE (Navigator) Euro sat nav, reversing camera, bluetooth connectivity, drivers memory seat etc. RX400h SE (Mutlimedia) Euro sat nav, Handsfree bluetooth connectivity, reversing camera, radio CD multi-changer etc. Both the same price and 2k difference in mileage the MM option being the highest mileage.

These are two cars advertised by Lexus in their approved used scheme so I wouldn't have expected them to get confused. Both cars are on '57 plates and both have bluetooth connection.

I think we've come to our decision on which SUV we're going for and it is the RX400h. I've seen a couple that interest me but I'm slightly confused by the spec. I'm only interested in SE models as the SEL only really seems to offer the ML stereo and rear DVD entertainmant as additions. What I'm confused about is what's the difference between an SE with navigation and an SE with multimedia and sat nav? I assume multimedia is just the ML stereo and front DVD? Any help much appreciated as ever.

Simpler and cheaper to get a small heater that plugs into the 12v socket and leave that blasting away off the battery power. There's no law against leaving an unaccompanied vehicle running on your driveway or private property, but as you point out, there is on the public highway.

Believe me, it's safer for me if I do.